One More Light
by csgt
Summary: Future-fic. After Vilgax's death, Ben thinks he can finally have a happy life with the woman he loves - Gwen - and their son Ken. But Vilgax's final vengeance endangers Ken's life and the consequences might break Ben's family apart. Will Ben, Gwen and Ken find a happy ending? - COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Since his identity had been exposed years ago, and his "inappropriate" relationship with his cousin caught by the paparazzi's cameras a few weeks later, Ben Tennyson had become an unpopular figure. The press labeled him as "a disgusting pervert with powers that are a threat to humanity."

Ben never really cared about what they said about him, but he always felt guilty because Gwen dreamed of a romantic wedding, with a crowd and all her family and friends there, and he knew she had given up on that dream the moment she chose to be with him, her cousin. Ben had already imagined their marriage: a low-key ceremony, without much fanfare, with very few people, only close friends and a few relatives.

But something impossible happened: public opinion turned in Ben's favor.

In the darkest hour of the planet, when everyone thought Earth would be conquered by the Vilgaxians, Ben was the man who defeated Vilgax. Ben, the "disgusting pervert with powers that are a threat to humanity" was ultimately responsible for saving the world, and the press finally left him alone. And he thought that maybe now he could finally give Gwen the dream wedding she deserved.

If someone had told Ben that he would marry Gwen under a round of applause and cheers of a big crowd, he wouldn't have believed them. But that was actually happening. It was surreal. Even the preacher emphasized that "the Holy Scriptures do not condemn the love between two cousins, and neither should we."

Gwen was obviously breathtaking in her wedding dress and with her long red hair loose. Ben had to restrain himself from kissing her before the preacher allowed him to.

A crowd of fans, several friends and their entire family gathered to celebrate the event. The presence of Ben and Gwen's grandfather, Max, and Gwen's grandmother, Verdona, was no surprise. The surprise was when Gwen threw the bouquet. It was Verdona who caught it. And then she winked at Max mischievously.

Ben's mother also supported their relationship since the day she found out about it. Perhaps because Gwen wasn't a blood relative of hers, it was easier for Sandra to see her as a daughter-in-law too. "I know there is no woman in this world - or in any other world - better for my son than you, my dear," she told Gwen during the wedding. At least Ben thought that was what she said, his mom was crying so hard he could barely make out the words.

On the other hand, Ben always had the impression that his aunt (and now also mother-in-law) Natalie hated him, for having taken away from Gwen's life all the normalcy Natalie had dreamed for her. But, just like the rest of the world, she eventually accepted Ben, even if half-heartedly, "Make my daughter happy," she told him.

Ben's and Gwen's fathers, Frank and Carl, had conflicting feelings. They both admitted that it was still a little "weird," but despite any reservations they might have about it, they loved Ben and Gwen with all their hearts and were very happy for them. Ben received warm hugs from his father and uncle.

Most of their friends were there too, like, for example, Lucy Mann, who with her usual hyper-active personality, made the whole party brighter and funnier. The Lenopan told a lot of embarrassing stories about Ben and Gwen, which made everyone laugh.

Even though the party had been wonderful, Ben had to admit that he was more excited about the Honeymoon. The billionaire Donovan Grandsmith was building a hotel on the moon, and although it was not yet open to the public, he invited Ben and Gwen to spend a week there as his first guests. Ben and Gwen would be the first couple to have a Honeymoon on the Moon!

Since day and night didn't work the same way on the Moon and on Earth, Ben and Gwen lost track of time. Which wasn't so bad, since they spent most of their time making love. Ben took as a personal goal to make Gwen scream with pleasure until she loses her voice.

In a calm moment when Gwen was sleeping and Ben was contemplating the beautiful sight of the Earth globe floating in the emptiness of outer space, a chill ran down his spine. It could be because of the PTSD that he developed after all the pain and horror of years facing psychopaths and monsters, but Ben could not shake off the feeling that he was _too_ happy, and such happiness would not last forever, something would go terribly wrong at some point.

With his heart pounding, he saw the reflection of Vilgax on the glass, "Enjoy your happiness while it lasts, Tennyson. I may not have been able to take over that world," Vilgax pointed at the Earth globe," But I'm still going to destroy _your_ world." Vilgax pointed at Ben.

"You are dead, I left you in pieces. You are dead, I left you in pieces. You are dead, I left you in pieces..." Ben closed his eyes and took a deep breath for a few seconds, whispering that phrase over and over again. When he opened his eyes again, Vilgax was no longer there.

* * *

About two years later, Ben was even happier, welcoming his firstborn to the world, Kenneth Maxwell Tennyson, a beautiful boy with red hair like Gwen, ears like Ben's, and emerald green eyes like the two of them.

Grandpa Max and Grandma Verdona (now that they were together, Ben was getting used to calling Verdona "Grandma" too, as weird as it sounded) came to visit Kenny in the maternity ward. Max was very happy with the homage to have his name as the middle name of the baby. If he had already been an overprotective grandfather, he would be an even more overprotective great-grandfather. And when Verdona saw baby Kenny creating magic bubbles in a cyan color - a perfect blend of Gwen's blue magic and Ben's green magic - or more precisely, Ben's Sorcerer form, Magus Viridis' green magic _-_ she wept and thanked Ben for giving her the sorcerer great-grandchild that she always wanted.

Ben's parents and Gwen's father were drooling over their grandson. Even Gwen's mother took Kenny in her lap with the greatest love and kissed his cheek. Ben knew Natalie would never really like him as a son-in-law, but she would surely love her grandson with all her heart.

"Kenny is beautiful just like you, love," Ben said, as Gwen held the baby, "But I'll make sure he won't be a Dweeb like you."

"Do you think you're going to make my son into a Doofus like you? No way," Gwen replied, laughing.

Ben gave Gwen a peck on the lips, "I love you and our baby. I'm the happiest man in the world."

Suddenly Ben felt a chill, and saw in the corner of the room Vilgax with a grim smile on his face. Ben closed his eyes and opened them again, and Vilgax disappeared.

"Love, is everything okay?" Gwen asked, worried as she saw the look of fear on Ben's face.

"Yeah, it's nothing," Ben replied, smiling again.

* * *

The tragedy happened about twelve weeks later, shortly after Gwen returned to work after her maternity leave.

Ben and Gwen left the baby in the nursery where most agents of S.E.C.T. used to leave their babies, and went off to work. Disappearances were happening at White Peaks, Pacific Bay, and the suspicion was that there was a nest of vampires there. Ben was worried that Gwen would be a little bit "rusty" but soon he saw that his worries were unfounded, she was more than capable of dealing with a few vampires. It wasn't a difficult mission for Watch Man and Lucky Woman.

But shortly after they had finished the mission, they received a call from S.E.C.T. to come to the nursery for an urgent matter.

Their world fell apart.

The death of Vilgax had made his Empire collapse. His generals began to fight each other for power while also struggling against the resistance, and with Vilgaxia in turmoil, all the troops had been called back to their home world, and Earth was left alone. But there was still a group everybody forgot: the human worshipers of Vilgax. They received promises that they would ascend to positions of great power and importance as rulers of the Earth alongside their alien overlords, but these promises turned into dust when Ben killed Vilgax. They wanted revenge.

Most of the terrorists involved in the attack on the nursery had been killed, but one had been captured alive, and Ben demanded to interrogate him.

"Your son has been infected with a very rare virus from the edges of the galaxy," the terrorist said with a somber grim on his face, "A virus so violent that it can even kill an immensely powerful being like a To'Kustar. You can be sure that it will kill your son too. Your firstborn will agonize in your arms, just as our master, the firstborn of Cthulhu, died an agonizing death by your hands."

Ben said nothing. He grabbed the man and started beating him mercilessly.

One of the guards told his partner, "We can't let him do this."

And the other replied, "Feel free to try to stop him, if you're stupid enough for that."

Ben punched and kicked the terrorist to a bloody pulp. His assault persisted long after the terrorist was already dead.

* * *

The virus wasn't contagious. Ben and Gwen could bring little Ken back home, but that only made it more painful. There was a reason why the terrorists did not simply kill Kenny - they could have done it if they wanted to. They wanted Ben to suffer as much as possible, and a slow death for his son would be a greater suffering.

Amid the poor child's cry, Ben and Gwen did everything possible to find a cure for weeks. Ben got in touch with the greatest scientists, and Gwen got in touch with all the great sorcerers. They appealed even to the people they hated: Ben tried to make a deal with Dr. Animo, promising to help him get moved from S.E.C.T. prison to a house arrest in exchange for cooperation, and Gwen did the same to Hex. But not even the villains were able to find a cure.

Kenny was intubated and put to sleep with sedatives. It was easier for Kenny, who would suffer less, and also for Ben and Gwen, who wouldn't have to listen helplessly to the cries of their little child. Doctors said he wouldn't survive much longer.

That night, before going home, Ben said goodbye to his son in tears, "Goodbye, my son. Forgive me, I saved the world but I can't save you. Dad loves you," he kissed the child's forehead. Kenny seemed to be at peace in his sleep, and Ben smiled at this sight.

* * *

When Ben and Gwen arrived at their tower, there was a visitor waiting for them, Azmuth, the Creator of the Omnitrix and quite possibly the most intelligent being in the universe.

"I want to give you something, another Omnitrix," the Galvan said, holding a small black box, "I programmed it with the main function of saving the user's life. It will transform the user in the most appropriate form to protect their life from any threat, including a disease."

"But when I contacted you before, you said the Omnitrix didn't have any life form that had resistance to the virus," Ben said, confused.

"Yes, it's true. But the Omnitrix can create new forms by fusing the different DNA samples it stores. Perhaps it can create a transformation that can make your son resistant to the disease," Azmuth said. "In addition, this Omnitrix has all the security locks disabled, so it can keep the user in any form indefinitely."

"You said I should not abuse the fusions and you've put security locks on the Omnitrix I'm wearing even for the normal transformations. I am a grown man and even for me it's still a risk to use the Omnitrix to the full extent of its potential, and my son is not even one year old yet. This might fry his head..." Ben questioned the Galvan.

"You're right. Now is the time for me to explain the risks to you," Azmuth said, in a somber tone, "There's a very small chance that your baby will be able to handle the transformation-"

"At least it gives him a chance," Gwen said, in an equally somber tone, "As of now, our baby has no chance of survival. We have nothing to lose."

"-And if he survives, the most likely outcome is that he will get stuck in a fused form, a hybrid between different alien species. He will no longer be a Homo sapiens magi, he won't belong to any species in the universe," Azmuth let out a long sigh.

That made Ben remember Kevin. His enemy had absorbed energy from the Omnitrix and turned into a horrendous monster, a Frankenstein-like creature with parts of various alien forms from the Omnitrix. He definitely didn't want his son to live his entire life like that.

"I'll leave it here, and you decide what you want to do later. If you don't use it, please destroy it so it doesn't fall into the wrong hands." Azmuth taught them the self-destruction sequence of the new Omnitrix, "I made sure this one won't blow up the planet if the self-destruct mode is activated."

"Thank you, Azmuth," Gwen said.

"I appreciate your efforts to help us, Azmuth. It really means a lot to us," Ben said with sincerity. Although he didn't intend to use Azmuth's gift, he knew that was proof of deep trust and friendship from the Galvan.

After Azmuth left, Gwen kept staring at the new Omnitrix, a replica of Ben's Omnitrix, only smaller.

"Give it to me, love. I'm going to destroy it, as Azmuth asked," Ben said.

Gwen put the new Omnitrix back in the black box and stood in a defensive position, "This is a chance to save our son, Ben."

"This might kill him, and if it doesn't, it will still end his life. People will look at him as a freak. We don't have the right to be selfish, to want Kenny for ourselves, regardless of how much scorn and isolation he will have to endure," Ben said, his voice cracking.

In tears, Gwen let out a laugh, "That's exactly what my mom said to you when she found out about us. That people would look at us as weirdos. That you didn't have the right to be selfish, to want me for yourself, regardless of how much scorn and isolation I would have to endure for you."

"That was very different, love." Ben said, "I know you're in pain, and I'm in pain too. But you can't let that cloud your judgement, you-"

Gwen left the black box on the table, and pushed Ben against the wall, rubbing her body against his, "I need you, Ben," She whispered in his ear seductively and kissed his bearded face.

Since Kenny had gotten the virus weeks ago, the couple hadn't made love. They were just too frustrated, sad and tired to think about that. Until that moment, Ben hadn't thought about how much he missed it, but now he was definitely thinking about it.

He kissed her, hungrily slipping his tongue in her mouth, but soon he felt a wave of mana through his body that made him groggy, "I'm sorry, Ben. I have to save our son's life. _Somnus_!" then he fell unconscious.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* If you got confused by a few references here, such as Verdona being only Gwen's grandmother, or Ben and Gwen working for S.E.C.T, or Magus Viridis, or the names Watch Man and Lucky Woman (instead of Ben 10,000 and Gwendolyn), it's because this story is supposed to be a "non-canon" future for my main fanfic series, "Watch Boy & Lucky Girl" and "Watch Boy & Witch Girls" ("non-canon", as in, it doesn't mean my main fanfic series will actually shape into what you're seeing in this story). I hope these small references to my other fanfics don't make the story too confusing for you. Any doubt, PM me.

* Oh, and what I said above also answers a question that might have popped in your head: why doesn't Ben just use Alien X to save Kenny? Because there's no Celestialsapien in the Omnitrix here.

* I hope the conflict (whether or not to use the Omnitrix to save Kenny's life) is gray enough for both Ben and Gwen to have good reasons for their divergent opinions on the matter.

* Thanks to my beta-reader, Aurora Nightstar. And thanks to all who are reading this.


	2. Chapter 2

* **Warning** : I changed this fic's rating to M because I decided to put a sex scene in this chapter. Please, if this type of material offends you or if you are too young to read something like this, **SKIP this scene** (there is a bold warning "Explicit Scene" at the beginning of the scene, and another warning "End of Explicit Scene" at the end of the scene). I don't trust my ability to write this kind of thing, but I've decided to risk it here because it makes sense in the context of the story

* * *

When Ben woke up, he found himself lying on the couch with Gwen standing beside him.

"Did I hurt you?" Gwen asked, a visibly worried expression on her face.

"Just my feelings," Ben said, telling the truth in a joking tone. He really hadn't felt any pain when Gwen put him to sleep. But he was actually hurt that she had tricked him, luring him in with a loving gesture only to knock him out, "What you did is something I'd expect from Charmcaster, not from you."

"I'm sorry, Ben," Gwen said, now with a guilty expression on her face, "I had to make sure you wouldn't interfere. If I had left you awake, you could turn into XLR8 and take the Omnitrix off my hands in the blink of an eye. Or you could've called the hospital, and told them not to let me take Kenny. I had to put you to sleep, and I only had two options: either I'd fight you, or I'd trick you. And I didn't want to fight."

"Where's Kenny?" Ben asked, and he wasn't sure what answer would be worse.

"He's sleeping in his room. Come and see him," Gwen said, in an apathetic tone, showing that although she was accepting the situation, clearly she wasn't happy about it.

Ben was already guessing what he was about to see, but that didn't make the moment any less painful.

At first glance, Kenny appeared to have three arms - two on one side and one on the other - but Ben realized that there were actually four. On the right side, the upper arm was Cannonbolt's and the lower arm was Upgrade's. On the left side, the upper arm was Diamondhead's, but there was also a very small arm below, which was Grey Matter's. Kenny's legs were XLR8's. His hip and abdomen were similar to a tree trunk, clearly from Wildvine, while the chest was a red metallic structure with water tubes around it - Overflow's - and with the Omnitrix plate in the center. He had Stinkfly's wings on his back, and his face had Benwolf's lupine features.

Ben sank to his knees and cried.

"I won't lie and say Kenny is still beautiful like he was before, but I can honestly say that my love for him is still the same as it was before," Gwen said, determined, "I understand that you didn't want this, and I'll admit that I acted behind your back. So if you don't want to raise him with me, you don't have to. I'll find a way to raise Kenny by myself and you can just forget about us."

Ben wiped the tears from his eyes and looked at Gwen in shock, "How can you say that? I would never leave you and Kenny. I love you both."

Gwen smiled at Ben with a real and genuine smile.

Kenny briefly opened his eyes in his sleep, and Ben realized that one thing remained exactly the way it was before. He still had the beautiful emerald green eyes inherited from his parents.

"We should let him sleep." Gwen pulled Ben by the arm.

Sitting on the bed in their bedroom, Ben told Gwen, "I'm still upset with you because of what you did. I know first-hand what it's like to get stuck in weird alien forms because of malfunctions in the Omnitrix, and I already faced Kevin at his worst mutations. I know this solution is too painful. But what is done, is done. And I promise to be with you and Kenny, always."

"Thank you, Ben," Gwen said, now with a mischievous grin, "Maybe I can do something to make you less upset with me ..." And then she began to cover him with kisses on his neck, cheek and mouth.

Ben really wanted to show Gwen that he was upset with her. But resisting affection from beautiful green-eyed redheads had never been his strength, "You won't put me to sleep this time?" He asked, loosening her hair from the ponytail.

"Wait and see." She kissed him passionately on the mouth, and he kissed her back.

 **EXPLICIT SCENE**

With a sense of urgency, the couple stripped each other's clothes off and let their hands explore their naked bodies as they continued locked in that warm kiss.

After the kiss, Ben started rubbing his erection on Gwen's legs, as if he were trying to find her lady parts in an act of foreplay, "I'm looking for my cousin's house. It's a place all red and tight, do you know where it is?"

"I think you're getting close, just keep looking," Gwen replied with a giggle.

He planned to play more with her, but he was already too aroused - the weeks of abstinence that both had went through had taken their toll on him - so he went straight to the point. In a swift movement, he pulled Gwen's legs apart and penetrated her, "Aww, I've already found it."

"AAAAAW," Gwen let out a loud moan of surprise in response.

Ben began a rhythmic movement, thrusting in and out of her, and muffled her moans taking her lips in his.

Ben could feel Gwen's breasts squeezed against his chest, and he felt a desire to suck on them too. She was still full of milk, but that was no problem for Ben, quite the opposite. He honestly didn't know if it was like that with all women, or just with Sorceresses, or just with Gwen, but her milk was the sweetest and most amazing drink he'd ever had in his entire life.

Ben positioned himself so that he could penetrate Gwen and suck on her breasts at the same time. His beard tickled her, and he knew she liked it. He was taking turns sucking on one breast and then on the other as the thrusts grew more and more intense. Gwen began to moan with pleasure louder and louder as she ran her hands through his brown hair.

Realizing that he was about to reach his climax, Ben suckled hard at her breast, taking in a big amount of milk, and at the same time he buried his rod all the way inside Gwen, releasing his own "milk" deep into her.

"BEEEEEEEEEN!" Gwen screamed also reaching her climax. Both were overwhelmed by an intense wave of bliss.

 **END OF EXPLICIT SCENE**

When Ben went to sleep, he was no longer upset with Gwen.

* * *

Everything was burning around him.

Ben rushed towards Gwen, fallen on the ground, and tried to wake her, but in vain.

She was already dead.

"My mother deserved this, for dooming me to live as a monster hated by everyone!" Ken's furious voice was heard.

"How could you, Ken?!" Ben, with tears in his eyes, turned to face his monstrous son - now an adult.

"Don't worry, Dad, very soon you'll join Mom too," Ken said, turning his Diamondhead's arm into a sharp stake, "You're the one responsible for all of this. If you had asked Azmuth to take the Omnitrix off your wrist years ago and give it to someone else, all would have been different! But nooooo, you were having too much fun playing hero to ever consider stopping. You killed Vilgax and enjoyed all the glory of being 'the man who saved the world' while I paid the price!"

Ken charged towards Ben to strike him.

Ben, heartbroken, used the Omnitrix to turn into Upgrade. Upgrade jumped on Ken, and merged with his Omnitrix to turn it off. Ken reverted back to his human form and the dormant virus inside his body claimed his life within seconds.

Upgrade jumped out of Ken's Omnitrix and turned back into Ben.

Gwen and Ken were dead. His family. The people he loved the most in the world. Ben had failed them.

The hero sank to his knees and cried, "No, no, no..."

Everything was burning around him, and the flames were about to reach him, but he didn't care.

"Ben, wake up!" Gwen shook him.

Ben finally woke up from his nightmare.

"You were shaking and shivering," Gwen said worriedly.

"Ken ..." Ben said, breathing heavily, "I have to do something for him before it's too late."

"We're going to do something for him, Ben," Gwen said, caressing his chest, "We're going to love Kenny and show him he'll never be alone."

"I have to cure him, it's the only way," Ben said, his heart pounding, "As soon as he's cured, I can just turn him back to normal."

"Ben, we've tried everything and everyone, and not even Azmuth has been able to find a cure for the virus..." Gwen said, worried about Ben's idea.

"The way you're talking, it seems like you don't want me to try to heal Kenny!" Ben said, surprised.

"Of course, I would be very happy if you found a cure for our son, but ..." Gwen bit her lip and was silent for a few moments, "I think this virus is incurable, and I think it's better for us to focus on being good parents for Kenny in his condition than wasting time trying to find a cure that doesn't exist."

"I can't accept that, Gwen. What happened to Ken is my fault. I made him a target. I have to fix it," Ben said, in a desperate tone. He hated himself at that moment.

Gwen caressed his face, "Don't do this to yourself, love. This is not your fault. The Vilgax worshipers, they are the only ones responsible for what happened to Ken."

"I won't forget them. Besides finding a cure for our son, I'll go after the Vilgax worshipers too. And I'm going to kill every last one of them," Ben said in a somber tone.

* * *

* Sorry for the short chapter, but in my mind, it made sense to stop here. Probably this will only have two more chapters.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry about the delay folks. I was kind of tired and unmotivated so I didn't write for a week.**

 **This is the final chapter of this story. I'm sorry that most of it is very bleak and full of angst, but I hope the ending will make up for it :)**

 *** The Circus Freaks are about the same age as Ben in my story's continuity, like in the Reboot.**

* * *

Ben was in a meeting with a veteran SECT agent, Elliot Jackson. Elliot showed some pictures of a dead man's body. Ben could barely recognize the man, but he remembered him. That man was a Vilgax worshiper who was involved in a terrorist attack to infect Ben's son Ken with a deadly virus. He had been arrested and Ben went to interrogate him. The man mocked Ben, and Ben beat him to death.

"He attacked me. I defended myself," Ben lied.

Elliot, a dark-skinned middle-aged man with gray hair, had known Ben for a long time, and from the look on his face it was obvious he had not bought Ben's story.

"Yes, an unarmed prisoner attacked you, and, to defend yourself, you turned him into a deformed pile of flesh," Elliot said, with an ironic chuckle. Then he showed more pictures of bodies with marks of werewolf attacks, "Let me guess: you accidentally ended up in these people's houses, they attacked you and you had to defend yourself, and they ended up dead?"

Ben was hunting terrorist Vilgax worshippers. He found clues to the whereabouts of one of them, and after a 'nice' conversation, that one gave the addresses and names of many of his peers. Ben released all of Benwolf's wrath upon them without mercy.

"I've never seen these people. There are lots of werewolves out there. I had nothing to do with this," Ben lied again.

"This won't work, Ben. You don't know the headache S.E.C.T's legal department is having to stop this shit from falling on you. Human Rights wants you to rot in jail," Elliot said.

"I think we're kind of friends, Elliot, but I'm not under the illusion that this organization cares about me. I'm a valuable asset. I get the job done. That's why S.E.C.T. is protecting me. I'm not going to lie. I'm counting on it too," Ben replied calmly.

"Ben, if you don't stop now, I swear, the higher-ups of the Global Security Council are going to throw you to the wolves. You're giving them too much trouble, and they're not sure how important you are now that Vilgax is dead. I warn you as a friend," Elliot said, "You don't want to leave Gwen raising Kenny by herself while you rot in jail."

Ben let out a long sigh. Elliot was right, "What am I supposed to do?"

"Go home, stay with your wife and you are on leave until next time the world is ending. We'll call you to save the day," Elliot said.

Ben thanked him and began walking out of the building. Before reaching the exit, though, he was stopped by an agent.

"Mister Tennyson, please come with me. There's someone who wants to talk to you," the agent said.

Ben followed him to the elevator, and the agent pressed a sequence of buttons on the panel very quickly. The elevator stopped on a secret floor, which most of the agents had no clearance to access.

"Ben Tennyson, how long," said a man covered from head to toe in a red suit. He stretched out his hand to Ben, "Don't worry. You won't get burned if you shake my hand."

He was probably smiling behind the red mask, but that couldn't be seen. Ben shook his hand, "Alan Albright, it's a pleasure to see you again, my friend."

Alan was born human, but he was turned into a pyronite - an alien of the same species as Heatblast - and he had to wear a special suit all the time to prevent him from burning everything around him. He was the current leader of the Dark Squad - a secret subdivision of S.E.C.T. for 'unofficial' missions.

"I'm very sorry about what your son is going through, Ben," Alan said, "Having to be turned into something non-human to preserve your life is a situation that I can closely relate to, unfortunately."

"Thank you, Alan." Ben said.

"I want to help you get your revenge. You have no expertise in killing people and erasing all traces. The Dark Squad has. And we're interested in eradicating Vilgax worshipers," Alan said, "Do you want to work for me?"

* * *

When Ben arrived in his tower, he collected several of Ken's toys that were lying broken on the floor. Unfortunately, having a diamond arm and lupine teeth made things such as toys and baby bottles short-lived. Ben let out a long, sad sigh.

Ben watched Gwen play with Kenny. Gwen had created tiny bubbles of mana and the baby crawled trying to catch them. If Ken couldn't play with ordinary toys, Gwen would find a way for him to have fun. Ben admired how his wife was a wonderful and dedicated mother.

He let Gwen play with the baby - he knew he could never take care of him as well as Gwen would - and went to his lab. As Grey Matter, for hours he unsuccessfully ran simulations with possible chemical compounds that could kill the alien virus and save Ken. Before each simulation, a twinge of hope lit up in his chest just to be put down immediately. In all the simulations he ran, either the compounds were not strong enough to kill the virus, or they killed the virus but they also killed Ken as well.

Absorbed in the simulations, Ben didn't notice the passage of time nor the arrival of his wife in the laboratory.

"Ben, come to sleep. You can't stay up all night again, please." Gwen approached him, and then began to give him a massage on his shoulders.

Gwen was not just taking care of Ken. She was taking care of Ben too.

He went to bed with her. Ben started kissing Gwen's cheeks and neck, but he smelled something weird, "What is this smell? Did you change your perfume?" He mentally wondered whether or not he should mention that this new perfume was definitely not as good as her natural feminine scent, which he loved.

"It's not a perfume." Gwen bit her lip, "It's Ken's antiseptics. I've consulted some experts on alien biology now that Ken's ... you know... in that alien hybrid form. Sometimes aliens are vulnerable to certain diseases on Earth and he already has a very dangerous virus inside his body, so call me a paranoid mother, but I'm using several special antiseptics on him."

"You're the best mother in the world. You know that, right?" Ben smiled.

"I hadn't noticed before that I was stinking, sorry. Maybe I should start using actual perfume at home just to cover that smell."

"Shh." Ben kissed her forehead, "I can take Stinkfly's smell. This is nothing."

Gwen smiled shyly. Ben stripped off her clothes.

* * *

The next day, Ben met his new "colleagues" from the Dark Squad who would be assigned to do missions with him.

Ben was already familiar with them. They were his enemies, the trio of mutants known as the Circus Freak. They were about the same age as Ben, though one of the men - Acid Breath - looked much older. He was thin, had few teeth in his mouth and was almost bald, with only a few strands of hair on his head. His power was to release acid - in the form of vapor or liquid - from his mouth.

The second member, Thumbskull, was tall and very strong. Ben would say he was almost as strong as his alien Four Arms. He had an unfriendly face and his only "hair" was a huge toenail on his otherwise bald forehead.

The third member of the group, Frightwig, had all the beauty that her partners were lacking. But she was just as beautiful as she was crazy. She had violet eyes and long red hair - which was as strong as steel cables, and she could stretch and control it any way she wanted.

Ben had put the three of them in jail. That could be a problem.

"Listen," Alan said, removing the mask on his face to expose his flaming head, certainly as an intimidation technique, "You all have nanites on your bodies that I can activate with the push of a button. If you try anything against Ben Tennyson, you're dead."

"Point taken, boss." Frightwig said with a cryptic smile, "Is Ben going to have nanites in his body too, or is he exempt for being your buddy?"

"Worry about yourself, Frightwig, not about Ben," Alan said, "Time to work."

* * *

S.E.C.T. had obtained information of a group of Vilgax-worshiping terrorists gathering in a shelter.

Thumbskull broke through the main door and drew the group's attention to him. Some had guns, but although Thumbskull was not invulnerable to gunshots, he was wearing a bulletproof uniform. The distraction worked.

Acid Breath sneaked in, approaching an armed man, and spat a huge amount of acid on his face, which made him scream in pain and drop his weapon immediately. Frightwig disarmed a woman with her hair locks, and then strangled her. Thumbskull himself grabbed a man, and broke his back. While Ben - as XLR8 - made sure no one escaped.

They were effective and brutal.

The surviving Vilgax worshipers were tied up and interrogated right there.

"Better someone start giving names and addresses of your buddies from other terrorist cells, or I'll start singing 'eeny, meeny, miny, moe' to see which one of you I'll kill first," Frightwig threatened, anxiously walking up and down in the room.

One of them asked Ben, "Please don't let them kill us. We did nothing wrong, we just believed in Vilgax, but we're not terrorists," the man tried to make Ben think that they were innocents. Obviously it did not work.

"I will not let them kill you." Ben grinned, "I'll kill you all myself if you do not cooperate."

The man was a bit frightened, but he was still convinced that nothing bad would happen to him, "You are a hero. You don't murder defenseless people in cold blood."

"Hero? Not long ago the press used to say that I was 'a disgusting pervert with powers that are a threat to humanity.' Maybe they were right. Maybe I was a bad guy all along." Ben turned into Heatblast and placed his burning hands on the man's shoulder while all the other terrorists watched in shock.

The man screamed in pain, and Ben increased the intensity of the fire, which torched him up in seconds.

"You were expecting Vilgax to give a paradise to you... But Vilgax is dead," Heatblast addressed the other terrorists, "The only thing you can expect now is punishment. And the punishment is FIRE and BRIMSTONE!" He increased the intensity of the flames in his hands.

"I'll tell you everything you want to know!" A woman in the middle of the group shouted.

"Tennyson, I didn't expect this from you. But I like this new you," Frightwig said, licking her lips. Ben just ignored her.

* * *

This had become Ben's new routine. He spent most of the time either hunting down the remaining Vilgax worshipers or in his lab trying to find a cure for Ken.

Ben avoided spending too much time with Kenny, because looking at his son was making him feel immensely guilty. Ken was still stuck in that bizarre hybrid alien form to survive the virus. And the person responsible, the leader of the remaining Vilgax worshipers, was still hidden incognito somewhere. Though many members of that terrorist cult had already been arrested or killed, the leader had not yet been found. Ben had yet to make good on his two promises: cure Kenny and kill those responsible for what happened to him.

One day, he arrived at the Tower while Kenny was asleep and Gwen was in the living room watching Netflix and eating ice cream. That pot of ice cream had been bought a day ago, but it was almost empty now. Ben imagined that Gwen was very frustrated with that situation just like him, and she was eating to relieve her anxiety. He saw dejection and sadness written in her face.

"I made a mistake," Gwen said, obviously referring to having used the other Omnitrix to turn Kenny, "You were right. I shouldn't have done that. "

"No, no, no," Ben said sitting down next to her on the couch, and placing a hand on her shoulder, "You did the right thing not hearing me and using the second Omnitrix on Kenny. Now we bought ourselves time. I'll find a cure for the virus. I promise.

"You can't promise that," Gwen said, tears starting to form in her eyes.

Ben hugged her, and made her lay her head on his chest.

"I wanted to keep our family alive, but I destroyed us." Gwen said in tears, "Kenny is a bizarre alien hybrid that will never have a normal life. You're never with us. You're always out there, hunting down the Vilgax worshipers that are still left, or held up in that stupid lab. And I'm here, filling myself with ice cream until I get fat while I pretend we're still a family."

"We're a family." Ben kissed her hair and hugged her even tighter, "I love you and Kenny. And I'll be spending more time here with you and Ken soon, okay? I'm very close to finding a cure and I'm very close to getting to the person who gave the order to infect our son. This will all be over soon," Ben said, even though he knew he was being way too optimistic.

Gwen cried to sleep in his arms. Ben gently carried her and laid her on the bed. He loved his wife and his son more than anything in the world, but he was failing them. Ben returned to his laboratory with the belief that this would be the night he would get a win, a cure for Kenny, but once again he failed.

* * *

A few nights later, Ben received an anonymous call asking him to go to a certain address with the promise of relevant information. When he got to the place, it looked like an ordinary house. He turned into Benmummy to slip through the crack under the door, and inside the house he turned back to normal. It was all dark.

Suddenly Ben felt his arms and legs being caught by something. The lights went on, and he saw that he had been immobilized by Frightwig's hair locks.

"Frightwig, I don't know how you escaped from your cell, but you made a big mistake-" Ben began to say.

"I didn't escape. This is my home now. Thanks to my good services with the Squad, I was put under house arrest. Obviously, I can't get out of here," she pointed to an ankle monitor that she was wearing," and since I'm not wearing a costume now, call me Frieda, please."

"I'm sure setting up a trap for me will put you back in a cell very fast, Frieda," Ben replied dryly, "But I'll give you one chance. You have until the count of _ten_ to let me go, and we can forget that this happened. _One_."

"This is not a trap, Ben," Frieda said, as if she was feeling offended, "This is a proposal."

"Unless you really have some relevant information like you said in that anonymous message you sent me, I don't want to hear any proposal. _Two_ ," Ben replied, still wrapped in her hair.

"I have something very relevant for you," she said in a seductive tone. Ben noticed that Frieda was only wearing a towel. She dropped the towel, standing naked in front of him. Ben closed his eyes, "You were so boring before, but now that you're all brooding and violent, I'm totally _crazy_ for this new you. Let's have sex!"

"I'm not interested. I love my wife. _Three_ ," Ben said, still with his eyes closed.

"I know you love redheads. What a coincidence! I'm a redhead too!" Frieda said with a laugh.

" _Four_."

"Don't you want to smell my perfume, Ben?" Frieda grabbed Ben's head with her hair and rubbed his nose on her neck.

" _Five_ ," Ben tried to hold his breath.

"Feel this wonderful body," Using her hair to control Ben like a puppet, Frieda made Ben's hands touch her belly.

" _Six. Seven. Eight. Nine_ ," Ben started to count more quickly, and Frieda finally let him go.

"And I thought you were fun now, but you're still boring like before," Frieda said, rolling her eyes.

Ben walked to the door, but as soon as he put his hand on the doorknob, Vilgax appeared at his side.

Ben took a deep breath. He knew it was another hallucination induced by his PTSD - and probably by his sleepless nights too. "You are dead, I left you in pieces. You are dead, I left you in pieces," He began to whisper.

"Who are you talking to?" Frieda asked, "Do you have imaginary friends? And then I'm the crazy one."

"Please go away," Ben told her.

"Well, this is my house, but okay, I'll be in my bedroom at the end of the hall. If you change your mind and you want to join me there, feel free to come," she said with a wink.

"You should take her offer. You know you want her," Vilgax said, in a mocking tone, "Gwen smells like antiseptics and she's getting a bit chubby. Frieda has a wonderful smell and a fantastic body. Let Gwen take care of your ugly baby, and let Frieda take care of you."

"SHUT UP!" Ben punched Vilgax. Obviously, the punch did no harm, since that Vilgax wasn't real.

"I'm not like Kevin, who just liked Gwen because of her looks. Maybe back in the day when I was young and immature that was the reason that I wanted to date her, but now I truly love her for who she is!" Ben said, gritting his teeth, "And I love my baby too. My son being stuck as an alien hybrid doesn't change that at all! "

Vilgax laughed again, "Really? You tell yourself you're killing my worshipers as some kind of righteous revenge quest, and you spend hours and hours locked up in your lab trying to find a cure that you know that doesn't exist. The truth is you're using all of this as an excuse so you don't have to stay with your family because you're unhappy with them. I'm your hallucination, so you know I'm telling the truths that are buried deep down in your subconscious."

"I'll tell you one truth: This ends now!" Ben blinked and Vilgax disappeared. He knew what he had to do.

* * *

The next day, Ben locked the lab door and asked Grandpa Max to keep the key and not give it back to him. Ben also went to S.E.C.T. headquarters and asked Alan to be released from the Dark Squad.

When Ben returned to the Tower, Gwen was in the midst of the routine of sanitizing Ken with the antiseptics.

"Hey, love. Let me do it," Ben said with a smile, "You can do something else."

Gwen looked at him, a little surprised, but let him take care of Kenny and left.

Ben sanitized the baby and then played with him. Kenny apparently loved to see Ben transforming into several different aliens. And Ben also used Magus Viridis to create mana bubbles and do a little show of lights for Kenny.

Gwen came back a few hours later. Ben, still with a smile on his face, was watching Kenny sleep.

Gwen pulled him out of the room and asked, "Ben, I love that you decided to take care of Kenny today, but don't leave me with false hopes. You are always busy in the laboratory or hunting down Vilgax worshipers. What happened today will happen more often?" She asked, in a mix of confusion and happiness.

"Yes," Ben replied, hugging her, "I failed you and Ken, but not for the reasons I thought. I was obsessed with healing Kenny and avenging what happened to him, when in fact I should've cared more about being a good father to him and a good husband to you. I will not make that mistake again."

"Thank you, Ben," Gwen hugged him back.

* * *

Before, Ben and Gwen didn't want visitors. Although many had asked to go to see them, Ben and Gwen made excuses to postpone these visits. They didn't want people to actually see Kenny. He was no longer the wizard great-grandson that Grandma Verdona wanted so badly. He was no longer the baby that his parents and Gwen's parents had admired and said, "How beautiful!" They had a paranoid fear that their friends and family would 'reject' Kenny the way he was now.

But Ben convinced Gwen that they had to change their attitude. And it was worth it. Visits began to become commonplace, and some friends and relatives began to babysit Ken for Ben and Gwen as well.

Max and Verdona loved spending time with Kenny. Kenny loved all the strange foods that Grandpa cooked - yes, Grandpa had some recipes for baby food too, which were just as 'exotic' as all the other things he cooked. And Verdona's magic tricks also made the baby very happy.

Lucy also got along very well with Kenny, using her shapeshifting powers to change her appearance into something similar to him. Kenny loved his Aunt Lucy.

Ben and Gwen also went back to their normal couple activities. Although Ben insisted that Gwen was beautiful anyway, Gwen started a heavy exercise routine, saying she wanted to make up for all the ice cream she had eaten before.

Ben also wanted to make up to Gwen for all the months he wasted in his fruitless obsessions instead of being by her side. One day, when she was waking up, he brought breakfast in bed for her, accompanied by a bouquet of flowers.

Gwen loved it, and as soon as she finished breakfast, she said that Ben deserved a "dessert." They kissed fiercely, and soon she was moaning "I love you, Ben" as he released all his seed into her.

* * *

Two months later, Ben received a call from Alan Albright, letting him know that the leader of the remaining Vilgax worshipers had been killed and the organization was officially dismantled.

Ben was happy, and he didn't care that he wasn't there to kill the guy himself. Staying with his family was much more important than revenge.

* * *

A few weeks later, Ben woke up in the middle of the night hearing the baby's cry. Gwen was about to get up to check what was going on with Kenny, but Ben insisted for her to keep sleeping. He went to check on Kenny himself, and found... a very cute and completely normal red-haired human baby with a small Omnitrix on his left wrist.

"Gwen! Quick, come here!" He shouted.

"Oh my God, what happened?" Gwen rushed in. When she looked at the baby, she immediately reached for Ken's Omnitrix, "Ben, help me, you have more experience with this thing. His Omnitrix has stopped working. He will die if we do nothing."

"Easy, Gwen. See how healthy Kenny is. Based on all my sleepless nights studying this weird alien virus, I think the virus died. The only reason the Omnitrix was keeping Kenny in that hybrid form was for him to survive the virus. Now, the Omnitrix turned him back to normal because it was no longer necessary to keep him that way," Ben said with a smile from ear to ear.

"The virus died? How?" Gwen asked, confused and happy.

"I believe it died naturally. I've always theorized that this could happen, but it was a very small possibility."

Kenny was laughing, very cute, healthy and happy.

A tear of happiness rolled down Gwen's face, "I didn't imagine this story would have a happy ending like this."

"We already had a happy ending. Me, you and Kenny together, no matter the circumstances," Ben once again smiled, "But I agree that we have an even happier ending now!"

Gwen kissed Kenny on the cheek and then kissed Ben on the mouth.

 **THE END**

* * *

 **This is it, folks! Thanks to everyone who read this. I hope you have enjoyed it. Leave me a review, please. Criticism, compliment, suggestions for other stories, anything you want to say.**


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